live @ the State Theatre 9.18.2000
Any jazz big band who once conceived a merger between Thelonious Monk’s “Nutty” and “Ode to Billie Joe” certainly possesses a delicious sense of melodic possibility, and Saxophonist Russ Gershon’s always percolating Either/Orchestra was as happily idiosyncratic as ever during a great set at the State Theatre Saturday night.
The E/O has been devoting considerable energy to incorporating exotic textures into their sound, and the mesmerizing interplay between drummer Harvey Wirht and percussionist Vincente Lebron spiked each of the show’s four selections with Latin, South African and Ethiopian flavor.
Beginning with the lighthearted “Breaktime for Dougo”, the 10-piece band’s stellar front line of six horns swung tastefully. “Miles Away”, with E/O veteran Tom Halter’s haunting trumpet turn conjuring 1970’s Miles Davis themes, was the only tune not taken from E/O’s very good new album, “More Beautiful Than Death”.
Though recorded separately, the album’s three Ethiopian tunes were performed as a suite, and their shifting, pulsating rhythms were the night’s highlight. Wirht and Lebron traded beats and accents as if in conversation behind Jaleel Shaw’s alto solo during the first section, “Amiak Abet Abet”. “Musicawi Silt” was the suite’s center, driven by Rick McLaughlin’s bass, and Gershon took a joyous soprano spotlight during “Feker Aydelmwey”, which concluded the suite and set.
Throughout the 90 minute set, Either/Orchestra’s genius was evident: a little Charles Mingus, a little Sun Ra Arkestra, a little hooky pop, a pair of drummers that leave most contemporary players in the dust. The kind of buoyant show that made the cold rain outside the theater much easier to take.
Washington Post, September 2000
